All this talk about who the Houston Astros will sign and which prospect could fill the gaps in their roster may have many fans forgetting about a guy who would have been in the rotation already had it not been for season-ending Tommy John surgery – Alex White.

White was, just like most Houston Astros’ pick-ups, a first-round pick. He was then packaged up with several other prospects and sent to the Colorado Rockies to net fire-baller Ubaldo Jimenez for the Cleveland Indians. The Astros then made their move and grabbed him in the Wilton Lopez deal. At only 25 years old, White still has time to prove that he was worth that first-round pick, but it’s getting down to crunch time. He needs to start making headway.

So far, his MLBcareer has been sub-par, and that’s being nice. He commandeers a 5-13 record with a 6.03 ERA in 30 starts. That’s not too impressive, but again, he is young, and growing pains are to be expected out of just about every player, even first-round picks.

Another positive is that he is coming off the now-popular Tommy John surgery. It’s now become commonplace that having such an operation makes the pitcher come back better than before (see Adam Wainwright). White could be the next success story.

White had been in the mix to make the Astros rotation going into the 2013 season, and given how the season went, he would have had every opportunity to do so. Now, he’s got spring training to look forward to. Given his resume and skill level, he’s bound to draw some attention and make a case to be in the starting rotation.

The difference between Matt Carpenter the leadoff man and Carpenter in any other spot in the order has been huge this season. As they enter the stretch run, St. Louis should keep batting him leadoff. Read More